I am of the same mind as you. I've joined some GF-FC messageboards and most are of the mind "all or nothing" even to the point of separate toasters and waffle irons and such. There are some good mixes for GC-FC from a company called Kinnick kinnick. The chocolate cake mix is wonderful and can be found at wal-mart. I don't know really if it would help or not. I've tried to slowly incorporate items that are indistinguishable from the preferred items (hard as heck) I did notice a bit of an improvement when I lowered the dairy intake as he's a dairy addict. But I'm not sure if I have the patience for all or nothing. Organic is easier and makes the most sense to me personally. You know everything in moderation and as natural and as unprocessed as possible. Just my 2 cents.

hello, and I tried the gfcf diet for like 2 days.My son wouldnt eat that stuff.I took him to a homeopath and she recently sold me HLC MindLinx developed for autism and ADHD.I got a discount from her.Its only like $36.00.You can look it up and order off line.There is a problem with the diet not only gluten dairy products generate exorphins-meat and some vegetables also.This new HLC has two strains that break down these damaging exorphins in the gut before they can be absorbed.After one dose my son made a little bit more eyecontact.He hasnt calmed down yet.We have a whole bottle to go.I hope this info helps!

Hi...I've done a 'little bit' of GF/CF, but only some of the stuff. For me it has helped a bit, however, you do need to see a nutritionist to get the needed nutrition that may be lost from that diet. But also, fruits vegetables meats and potato breads are all the foods people used to eat... If you check out my website, chat1autism.wetpaint.com/ I have a whole page on the GF/CF diet and also the alternatives to put in for wheat that might be in recipes, etc. For some the diet works, for others it doesn't do anything. If he's not having stomach problems, it could actually start problems...its a kind of experimental thing.

Kris

My son never has been on it. I've seen it work on some and others no. Depends. It's up to you.

I have seen the all of nothing attitude in my other interests, and I find the answer in the fact if a food is really bothering you it can not be tolerated. For me it is red wine. The sulfites cause me to have asthma, everytime. I know a gal who has long avoided rice believing that she was determined to be allergic to it. Then after needing to lose the big mass of fat in her midsection, she tried with good sucess a diet program. To start with a open mind she took some rice as the menu called for, and sure enough she had allergic reactions, althought the diet has help her lose 30 lbs of fat and gain muscle mass. The thing is to identify the items that may trigger symptoms. We are all different, so tha trick is to go through the experiemnt stage. I see a problem with the food colors and not so much with the casien or gluten things.

I tried this and was very strict for 6 weeks. My DS behavior was off the wall. He was shutting down, reverting to old behaviors and I was SO happy that it did not "work". It was very hard but now I can cross it off the list. I say try all you can if you feel up to it. Take your time and don't beat yourself up if it's too much.

Well, I have been doing the diet for 3 years now. I feel it helped Sean. From everything that I have read and what the DAN! dr has told me you really should do both at the same time. They kinda go hand in hand. The diet is not hard. I know initially it seems really hard but it isn't. You can go to whole foods, trader joes, health food stores even the regular grocery stores are coming on board. I know that you initially don't see real results for about 6 months. The children tend to go off their rocker initially because they are craving the foods because many are intolerant of the wheat/gluten and dairy products . This does go away. Good luck if you need any help give me a yell. Hugs Denise

I'm at a place in my son's treatment right now where we're doing all the testing and preparing for diet/allergy/detox/etc. treatment. As far as I know, yes, the diet is all or nothing. If your child truly is affected by the proteins/etc., then even the slightest exposure is harmful. That's what all the testing is for though. Not that we all couldn't benefit from a healthier diet. My son will also be taking 3 years of allergy shots to treat allergies. And that, along with treating whatever digestive issues he may have, and taking care of any nutritional deficiencies - he should be able to come off the diet in a year. So that sounds like a worthwhile idea to me. I can do the diet for a year.